India on 24 September, 2014 created space history by becoming the first country in the world to enter Mars orbit in its maiden attempt. Only the US, Russia and Europe have previously sent missions to Mars, and India has succeeded on its first attempt

The Mars Orbiter Mission, or MOM, cost $74 million, a fraction of the $671 million the U.S. space agency NASA spent on its newly arrived MAVEN Mars mission.

The mission also makes India the first country in Asia to reach Mars, after an attempt by regional rival China failed to leave Earth's orbit in 2011.

Getting a spaceship successfully into orbit around Mars is no easy task. More than half the world's previous attempts — 23 out of 41 missions — have failed, including one by Japan in 1999.

After completing the 666 million kilometre (414 million miles) journey in more than 10 months, the spacecraft called Mangalyaan — meaning Mars craft in Hindi — will now study the red planet's surface and scan its atmosphere for chemical methane. It will not land on Mars.

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